When you're alone
And life is making you lonely,
You can always go downtown
so goes the song "downtown" by petula clark. i am neither alone nor lonely, but i definitely wanted to go downtown, which in this case, is binondo. aaacckk, so corny, i know.
aaanyyywayyy, moving on...
this must be my nth post about binondo already, but the place is just chock-full of hypnotizing nooks and crannies that still need to be explored so i can't help but return there again and again.
last saturday proved to be a good time not just to tour binondo, but to meet up with blogfriends snglguy and beng as well. it's my first time to meet both of them. sngl, who grew up in the area, proved to be an engaging tour guide who led us through a merry walk through the narrow streets with eat-all-you-cans, sugarcane juice, black vietnamese porky pigs, old houses, and even hardware stores with questionable names (i mean, who would name their store king of screws? obviously, it's a store that sells mainly screws. oh well. ;P). as for beng, bless her heart, though she wasn't able to bake the brownies we were hoping she would bring, whipped up a batch of her equally super-duper-mega-ultra-melt-in-your-mouth chewy chocolate chip cookies. i do think in due time she'll be able to put up her own bakery. i'm also glad to have found a kindred spirit in her.
we ate lunch at emperor villa, which, for less than 300 pesos for their lunch buffet, was a real steal, but unfortunately, due to changes in their policy, they won't be refilling the trays after 1pm. suffice to say, we've had our fill well before the time. we (i, rather) even had some more room for dessert.
And life is making you lonely,
You can always go downtown
so goes the song "downtown" by petula clark. i am neither alone nor lonely, but i definitely wanted to go downtown, which in this case, is binondo. aaacckk, so corny, i know.
aaanyyywayyy, moving on...
this must be my nth post about binondo already, but the place is just chock-full of hypnotizing nooks and crannies that still need to be explored so i can't help but return there again and again.
last saturday proved to be a good time not just to tour binondo, but to meet up with blogfriends snglguy and beng as well. it's my first time to meet both of them. sngl, who grew up in the area, proved to be an engaging tour guide who led us through a merry walk through the narrow streets with eat-all-you-cans, sugarcane juice, black vietnamese porky pigs, old houses, and even hardware stores with questionable names (i mean, who would name their store king of screws? obviously, it's a store that sells mainly screws. oh well. ;P). as for beng, bless her heart, though she wasn't able to bake the brownies we were hoping she would bring, whipped up a batch of her equally super-duper-mega-ultra-melt-in-your-mouth chewy chocolate chip cookies. i do think in due time she'll be able to put up her own bakery. i'm also glad to have found a kindred spirit in her.
we ate lunch at emperor villa, which, for less than 300 pesos for their lunch buffet, was a real steal, but unfortunately, due to changes in their policy, they won't be refilling the trays after 1pm. suffice to say, we've had our fill well before the time. we (i, rather) even had some more room for dessert.
at the emperor villafueled with sugarcane juice at one of the stalls along ongpin, we went on to florentino torres street to los ambos mundos, the OLDEST RESTAURANT IN THE PHILIPPINES. it's been around since 1888. isn't that great? another novel thing about the restaurant is that the owners of the restaurant have four vietnamese potbellied pigs pampered to their heart's content. as for the food, we still have to try them sometime soon.
look at them piggies snooze in the sun! (the other one is in the background, not so visible)
i miss those ube hopia at eng bee tin. i used to audit an insurance firm there in binondo when i was still working there in manila. anyways, glad you had a nice eyeball. have a nice day to tou and your friends.
ReplyDeletethis is wonderful, meeting blogger friends in person. and 300 pesos for buffet? that's really a good deal. and the pot bellied pigs, aren't they cute. we have a neighbour here who use to have one in her backyard, till someone reported her to the city and was forced to place the her pet pig with someone.
ReplyDeleteand speaking of binondo, i remember my dad bringing us there on week ends to have the most delish chinese food. bigla ko ring namiss kong dice hopia, hehehe ;)
hmmm...ambos mundos'original location was not in sta cruz but somewhere in quiapo. the restaurant opposite it belongs to the same owners... but glad you made it there. I was planning to re-visit that restaurant one of these days.
ReplyDeletetutubi sa pilipinas
Next stop, Los Ambos Mundos for their much touted Kare-Kare... mwahaha. :-D
ReplyDeleteOldest restaurant! I wanna go there! Did you eat there? How was the food?
ReplyDeleteI love sugarcane juice.=)
lawstude: i think eng bee tin supplies groceries with their products already with their hopia so maybe there's ube hopia in the grocery nearest you. thanks, have a nice day too! =)
ReplyDeletesardonic nell: sayang naman yung pet pig na yun. i remember watching a tv show similar to rescue 911 which showed a pet pig rescuing its owner by blocking a passing car. buti na lang sumunod yung guy sa pi at nalaman nyan nagka-heart attack yung owner.
you're right, mas masarap nga chinese food sa binondo. =)
tutubi: edit alert! thanks for the tip =) sama naman ako hehe :D
rudy: sige dali go! =)
ruy: we haven't eaten there yet, though hopefully soon. =)
Pigs in the city? Babe, is that you? :-)
ReplyDeleteGaling naman. Me EB na nga, me tour pa. And I think Binondo is really under rated as a tourist spot. Dapat talaga me mag-ayos ng matinong tour para ma-appreciate siya ng todo.
The potbellied pig looked cute!!!
ReplyDelete:D
wow ansarap, i've been to binondo many times na pero dun lang lagi malapit sa church, at di pa ko nakakakain sa mga resto dun at gusto ko talaga mapuntahan un oldest resto na yan, san ba banda un?
ReplyDeletekumusta naman ang baboy damo dun! hahaha!
ReplyDeletebasta masarap ang hopia sa eng bee tin!
Yup, I always loved roaming around Binondo myself--but with a tight hold on my bag in case of pickpockets..hehe, great to know you had an EB with Beng and Snglgy--Beng's one of the nicest people I know. Now, Snglyguy is another matter...not sure what to say about him...hmm...(joke!peace!hehe)
ReplyDeleteLotts, I don't know why I felt really hungry after reading this post..
ReplyDeletedi ko alam kung nakapunta na ko Binondo...hehe pero parang may pinuntahan kami one time na tindahan ng maraming hopia..iba-iba flavor hehe di ko lang sure kung Binondo ang area na yun =)
ReplyDeletearyo: maybe it's babe in disguise. ;D
ReplyDeleteactually merong 2 manila tour guides na nagtotour sa binondo, sina carlos celdran at ivan mandy. been on ivan's binondo food wok last year. =)
kyels: yup it's cute! i was just hesitant to pet it coz it might run me over lol =)
pusa: sa me florentino torres. kanto na nya recto pero di ka makakakaliwa, daan ka na lang sa ongpin, turn left sa t. mapua, right sa soler tas left na sa f. torres. ang di ko lang alam kung me mga one way dun kasi nilakad lang namin :D
coldman: ay agree ako jan! an gusto ko ay yung monggo hopia nila =)
gypsy: haha ako din. fotunately wala namang nawawala sakin hehehe. enjoy nga EB with them =)
ReplyDeletekris jasper: baka natakam ka sa baboy hehehe =)
verns: baka sa eng bee tin yun, sa binondo nga. dami nga lang eng bee tin dun hehe. =)
naku carlotta kelangan ko imemorize yan instructions mo shunga shunga ako sa mga daan :)
ReplyDeleteEng Bee Tin hopia can already be found anywhere in Manila. That's why instead of going to Binondo, I'd buy those hopie in Pioneer Center which is quite accessible for me from my house or office.
ReplyDeleteCarlotta, next time na may EB kayo, imbitahan niyo naman ako. I've been to Ivan Man Dy's walking tour but it must be different kung talagang ka-blogosphere mo yung mga kasama mo :D
first at LA CARLOTTA, sosyal!!! hehe
ReplyDeletebinondo is one place i really, really like to explore, sa dami ng pagkain dun parang kulang ang isang araw! did you guys go to this street, no eskinita, na kabi-kabila/tabi-tabi ang foodies?
o, naghihintay ng EB si dodong :D
Hey, looks like you guys had a wonderful and sumptuous time in Binondo. Blogger din ba yung baboy? :)
ReplyDeletepusa: kung ako lang ang kasama mo baka naligaw na tayo. we need a guide there =)
ReplyDeletedodongflores: sige ba! iba nga ang experience pag blogfriends kasama, lalo na't ang isa ay taga dun. =) sila señor enrique at sidney naman nameet ko sa food walk last year. =)
zherwin: naku, saan dun? sa dinarami-rami ng makakainan dun parang di ko pa nadaanan yun. ano sama ka? =)
toe: LOL =) yep, we had a great time! =)
sige, game tayo dyan, binondo part two? hehehe
ReplyDeleteLa Carlotta (Sosy name. Hehe) bago sa akin yang oldest restaurant na yan. Masubukan nga minsan. Gandang EB yan, kasi me halong pasyal :D
ReplyDeleteThanx, Carlotta :)
ReplyDeletezherwin: why not makunat? siguro next year na para di na masyado busy =)
ReplyDeleteferdz: lol =) honga eh sakin bago din yung resto. gotta try their food soon! =)
dodong: no prob =)